Some Cooper Vids (Because I Know How Much You're Gonna Love Him)

So, you all know how much I talk about him... how cute I think he is... how much he makes me laugh. I thought I'd share a little with you via the magic of the interweb. I've never embedded video on Blogger, but it seems like it's going to work... so we'll give it a try.

Have I mentioned lately that I ♥ HIM?!

You've heard me tell you about it, but now's your chance to see it. Cooper is hyper-excited by the W word. And when Coop is hyper-excited, he tends to jump HIGH and attempt to bite any piece of clothing he can get his teeth on.



You think I've been kidding? This dog does not tolerate stuffing! Parts 1 and 2 of Coop de-stuffing one of his fave toys (luckily, they're only $1.47 apiece at Wal Mart for any of you who just must see it again and again and again!).





And finally, my nightly bathtime has become a nightly sip-from-the-fountain. It makes me giggle when he does this... I thought maybe your fancies would be tickled as well.



Again, I really hope these are viewable. Not sure if Blogger support YouTube videos or not. Anyway, if not... here are some still pics for your enjoyment as well.




Let me tell you about that last one. Cooper doesn't normally hang out on the welcome mat... oh no. Usually, he's all about running around provoking Kona. Today, though, the afternoon ended with him sulking on the welcome mat. Let me just share with you how that came about. (I've already recounted the whole thing once via IM with Jon... so please excuse some of the copying & pasting. Maybe I'll make it seamless so you don't notice... but at the very least, Jon, you've seen this.)

HELLIONS, I Tell You: A Day in the Life of Cooper & Kona
There's a big yellow lab who lives down the street from us. He's off-leash sometimes and comes over to visit. He's a very friendly dog. Our two aren't (friendly dogs, that is). Today, the big yellow lab was on his leash, with his owner, walking by our house. This was just after our walk while we were sitting in the yard, practing "stay" (yeah right... first clue that this wasn't going to turn out well... we don't "stay" very well).

We had run into the big yellow dog once before already. He was in his yard playing, which is evidently unacceptable if you're Kona. Kona growled and got all riled, but I'll be danged if I was going to let her get away with that. I made them walk the cul-de-sac three times... just to practice not freaking out. They didn't freak the 2nd or 3rd time! Small victories... but no way were they going to let me win the war. Anyway, they were doing really well when we came back into the yard, walk concluded. I took the leashes off and we practiced staying down until I "broke" them. Then the big yellow dog came along with his owner. Kona was staying really well... Coop, not so much. And Kona was getting anxious, especially because Coop was running around. So, she started whining. Then she just squirted away from me. Both broke through the electric fence. Although they didn't actually have their collars on, they usually at least think twice before breaking the barrier. Today, no second thoughts at all. They quickly caught up with the big yellow dog and owner (who, incidently, had just walked by the house saying "Sorry" -- she was apologizing for getting my dogs excited by simply walking by -- and I said, "no, don't be... we need the practice"... YEAH, WE DO!).

Anyway, so Kona & Cooper both took off down the street, chasing after the big yellow lab. The owner has evidently not had many run-ins with dogs like mine. She started RUNNING. I'm like... please just STOP! 1) I won't catch you to help and 2) they're GONNA chase you! Oh, and by the way, the big yellow dog that was so threatening to Kona? Yeah, Kona bit at his behind at his most threatening moment... he was, um, how can I say this with a bit of decorum... he was "on the pot". Talk about attacking when his guard was down! So, I'm running after the lady who's running away from Kona & Coop with her big yellow lab (half finished, mind you). I'm yelling stop, stop, stop. She's trying to control her dog... who, poor thing, was just trying to take a dump. But, according to her later, she just didn't want him to snap and bite back. I was like... well, I WOULD'VE bitten back. What a rude interruption!

Finally, she gets the big yellow lab down on his back. Coop is still wandering around, but Kona is semi-controlled. At this point, I've placed myself between her and the big yellow lab and she sees I mean business. She goes into "shoot, I'm caught... submit, submit, submit" and seems more afraid of what I'm going to do to her. So, I start backing Kona toward home... and Coop's like, "nope, see ya" and goes BACK to the other dog!

After we're all back inside our electric fence, I go get the shock collar and put it on Kona. It usually only takes a tiny little reminder to make her very cognizant of the boundary for the next few days/weeks. I carried Kona to the edge and let her hear the beeping. Oh, she doesn't like that... she's freaking, trying to get me to let her run away from that mean old boundary. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to me, Coop heard the beeping from several feet away (it's very quiet and usually only the dog wearing the collar would be able to hear it). But Coop, he's attuned to that beep. He HATES the shock treatment and reacts the exact same way every time he hears it. RETREAT! After Kona & I have had our refresher course in underground electric fences, I look around to find Cooper. He is nowhere to be found and will not come when I call him. When I head back towaard the front door, I see that he's assumed the position... the I-heard-the-beep/saw-Kona-get-shocked-so-I'll-be-waiting-to-get-inside-please position on the welcome mat. He won't come back down into the yard AT ALL. Not after he's heard that beep.

Okay, so really long anti-climactic story. Sorry... that's usually what I do best, though. Hope you at least enjoyed the visuals that accompanied the words (more words) tonight! G'night.

Is There Some Place Far Away, Some Place Where All is Clear?

Y'all, my Memaw just sent me an e-mail. I'm very proud of her! I sat down at her computer over the weekend and made sure it was still "connectable" to the Internet (something had happened...). It was. She's still on dial-up... but is dial-up really that bad if you have never been on a faster connection? I remember we all used to do it!

In fact, I was re-reading a chat transcript the other day from back in my day of dial-up Internet service. Skipper and I were having problems keeping our modems connected to Al Gore's interweb. Man... remember having to tell Mom to please stay off the phone or hoping that no one called (the call waiting beep seemed to knock us off at Mom & Dad's and at LR) or waiting around (for what seemed like forever) for a page to download!!!

Or how about this one... the silliest of all, I think... e-mail service where your modem calls in to retrieve your messages (and send any you've got in your outbox) and then immediately disconnects. One shot... send and receive. Call again later if you think you'll have more (or if you have another message to send). So funny. Haley & I used to spend hours just waiting around... waiting for an e-mail to send, waiting to receive an e-mail, waiting for my sister to get off the phone or the computer so that I can use the one line. Of course, that did give us hours upon hours to sit around and giggle with each other... and, over the course, become best friends (is that when that happened?!). So, maybe it was all for the best. :)

Sometimes I feel like my current IM (chat programs, Memaw) is slow... like I can't actually have a conversation in a sensible amount of time... but think of where we've been! Ah, the good old days with Skipper and Mr.PM. And we didn't complain... well, too much. Oh wait... YES I DID. I complained constantly. In fact, just about every message I sent was probably ended with some "hurry up" or "send more" directive. But that's just because I'm a complainer. Maybe the rest of y'all didn't complain. You're better peeps, I'm sure.

Sitting in front of Memaw's computer (and 56K modem) on Saturday, I was i-m-p-a-t-i-e-n-t! I live in a world where I have 2 computers... both are powered on, online and running something (even if it's just my little contribution to world peace -- what I really want, too -- or curing incurable diseases -- You too can help change the world!) at all times. My download speed is upwards of 3mbps (can I say mbps or does it have to be 3000kbps?) and upload is right at 2. And I complain about even that! Patience is virtue... and I am not a virtuous person.

My Memaw, on the other hand, is very virtuous... and patient. She's going to be learning more very soon, I'm sure. She's a doer. And nothing, not even a slow connection, will keep her down! Keep up the good work, Memaw. Send lots of messages. We ♥ e-mail. Right Haley? Right Mom? Even Dad enjoys reading some e-luv (if he remembers to check it!).

Speaking of e-luv... Lois, I know I haven't really acknowledged (on the blog or via reply) your e-mail. It's in my Inbox waiting for me to write you back. I got it, I appreciated the heck out of hearing from you, and I love that you're enjoying (I hope that's not too presumptuous) my little eCorner (or in this Apple-crazed world nowadays, maybe it should be iCorner... did you see their iPhone yet?) on Blogspot. Of course, Lois & Memaw (and Mom, who also joined the let's-email-Heidi club today) have let me hear a little bit of what they have to say. Oh, and Haley too... a comment definitely counts. The rest of y'all... silent readers... lurkers... sneaky, sly I'll-read-what-you-have-to-say-but-never-let-you-hear-from-me: shame, shame, everyone (well, no one... no one, that is, but me) knows your name. I love you anyway. Keep reading... but I'd love to hear from you sometime.

Finally... last thing and then I'm out... there was a story on CNN today (here if you're interested) about John Cusack and Jeremy Piven not being friends anymore. I feel like I should write a NYT obit for their friendship. Something with the word "fatum" in it, fo' sure. But really... say it ain't so! They hafta still be friends. You don't just stop being friends. Especially over something as silly as success or fame or jealousy or anything really. You just keep on wanting what's best for your friend. You keep on standing behind, beside, in front of (wherever they need you) them. Am I right? Pssha... probably not. Y'all would all probably leave me in a heartbeat if I got famous too. LOL... what a scary thought... me famous. Lord help us. And on that note, I'm out. Peace, y'all... world peace if it's not too much to ask.

A Beautiful Sunrise Leads Us To Another Day

Music is powerful. Period. After spending several evenings banging on the pinaner at Mom & Dad's, I find myself humming, whistling (if I could really whistle), and otherwise belting out hymns and choir medleys. (The belting out has primarily been in the privacy of the car... luckily, for those of you around me today!)

After that one evening (when I first pulled out the hymnal & medley book to mess around on the piano), I found myself unwittingly singing little snippets of songs as I was watching TV, typing e-mails, creating PowerPoint presentations for my boss, etc. Forty percent of the executives' direct reports agree that there is the right amount of open and honest communication between executive team members. I'm bound for that city, God's holy white city, oh yes I am. Fifty-three percent of the execs' direct reports disagree that the execs communicate with employees about what is going on at the company (outside of regular business areas). When you feel a little prayer wheel turning, know a little fire is burning, find a little talk with Jesus makes it right. Seven percent strongly disagree and thirty percent merely disagree that the exec team is held accountable for their commitment to employees. I heard about a mansion He has built for me in glory; I heard about the streets of gold, beyond the crystal sea. Hmm... so, even though those results might not sound all that great... mixed in with the feel-good lyrics of those good-old-days medleys (and other fave hymns), they sound positively glowing!

Speaking of good-old-days medleys and other fave hymns... Mom & I used to love to do those medleys. She & I sang a little (or a lot, depending on if you're Mom or me) on Friday night. We were partially deciding on whether to cook in or eat out, partially enjoying the piano/medleys. Mom (as the choir director) and I (as the pianist) used to always call up the most-fun medleys on a weekly basis... so we had a good time remembering and enjoying those tunes this weekend. But with Mom, she was always easy to please. She enjoys listening to me play (as pitiful as I am even when I struggle through a flat- or sharp-laden piece with a difficulty rating of about 1.2 million) and tells me so. I think Dad would rather the piano have a mute button! :)

Anyway, fave hymns... I always have fun looking through the hymnal and thinking back to which choir director or other church-member-of-importance requested which hymns from week to week. I think it amused Mom to hear me call out... "this was the one Dianne always wanted to sing"... "this one's Haley's fave"... or "Preacher Burchette loved this one". I guess I logged all those faves/old stand-bys during those play-every-Sunday high-school years. That was fun. I miss those days. Anyway, just for those of you who were there & care (and for posterity's sake)... with page numbers... just because I CAN: Dianne always picked "Set My Soul Afire" (402); Bunk's fave was "Love Lifted Me"; Haley always liked it when we sang "My Lord is Near Me All the Time" (209?); Dad's hands-down fave was always "Victory in Jesus" (375); Preacher B loved "He is So Precious to Me" (403?). And my faves? Well, my stand-bys were consistently "Standing on the Promises" (336) and "Heavenly Sunlight" (425 -- perhaps the beginnings of my fascination with sunshine?!).

Great... now having talked about it all again (after having finally gotten them all out of my head during my 6-hour drive with my favorite Gospel & Religious albums -- SCC's Heaven in the Real World (all-time fave) and Signs of Life (with a few other songs from his other albums mixed in), Audio Adrenaline's Bloom, and Jars of Clay's Much Afraid), I'm once again back to:

I'm bound for that city, God's holy white city... oh, yes I am
I'll never turn back to this world anymore (anymore)
No matter how rough may be the way
No matter how oft I stop to pray
I'm bound for that city on the evergreen shore

How does a song get so stuck-in-your-head that you can't think around it? Amazing... truly amazing.

M&D - Miss you. Love you. Thanks for putting up with me and putting me up. *hugs*

Finally, what's a blog post these days without a few snapshots. From the trip today (beautiful driving day!), a couple from yesterday (Papa poison-oak-doesn't-affect-me Puffy Eyes himself), and the these-were-our-Christmas-toys view of the TV room (where Coop & Kona have evidently enjoyed most of their destuffing activities this weekend):

You Missed Out

I ♥ auto timer features on digicams. Haley... I guess you can just photoshop yourself in... again. ;)


Also... a few others from today. I can't stop. Addictive personality much?


My sweet (unknown) g'pa (one of 'em... unfortunately, never got to know either of them):


And, finally, a few from yesterday:

Connecting the Ends

I thoroughly enjoy the days when Blogthings gives me ready-made blog postings. C'mon, you know you'd rather skim my results and go take a fun little quiz yourself than read anything I have to say!

You Are Likely a First Born

At your darkest moments, you feel guilty. At work and school, you do best when you're researching. When you love someone, you tend to agree with them often. In friendship, you are considerate and compromising. Your ideal careers are: business, research, counseling, promotion, and speaking. You will leave your mark on the world with discoveries, new information, and teaching people to dream.

The Birth Order Predictor

Your Aura is Red

You have a high level of emotion. This can mean passion, but it can also mean rage. Usually, you don't take these emotions out on others. You just use them as motivation - and it works! The purpose of your life: embracing all the wonders of the life, lots of travels, and tons of adventures Famous reds include: Madonna, Marilyn Monroe, Jennifer Lopez Careers for you to try: Dancer, Boxer, Surgeon

What Color Is Your Aura?

Happy Weekend! I hope all y'all get the opportunity to sleep in tomorrow morning... b/c that's definitely what I'll be doing. I swear, 8:00 am has been REALLY early the past two days! What's up with that?!

Smiles today:
- New haircuts
- Completing work stuff
- Reminiscing... Haley, remember the trip between Jeff Elem and Jackie's?! And DAD actually brought up the Clubhouse (wasn't that it's name?!)... and I reminded him I'd titled the pic of the 4 of us (@ Cal's wedding) "The Clubhouse Crew" (was that really the name?). Dad said he wished he could find a pic of the 4 of us at about the time he finished that little building. I bet we were ADORABLE. You know we were.

And, in the spirit of the Clubhouse Crew (which I'll name us even if that's not correct!), Good night sweetheart... well, it's time to go... go, go, go to bed. :)

Regarding the Diet and Habitat of the Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat

Once again, for the umpteenth time, I don't really have anything substantial to say tonight on the blog. Oh whatever, shut up Heidi, and just get to it. Right.

The weather down South these days is just unbelievable, huh? Today was 60+ in our little northwest corner of NC! Unheard of for January 4th. While visiting Doc's office earlier today, they had the windows open and Joy still complained about it being hot! Gran came by to plant some bulbs and she even mentioned that some of her flowers had poked their fragile little heads up to see the sunshine. (She covered 'em... hopefully, they'll make it regardless of what happens for the rest of the "winter".) Today was just beautiful, though. Which makes me wonder how the rest of the country fared. I know last week in Portland was partly gray (some days) and partly sunny (others), but consistently pretty chilly (40s). Tonight, the weather channel is reporting 33 (tonight's low) - 44 (tomorrow's high) & partly cloudy/chance of showers for Vancouver, WA. Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, S'boro is projected to have a high of 77 tomorrow. Seventy-seven!!! On January 5th!!!

Anyway, I can already tell I'm going to be tired again in the morning. I had an extra-hard time waking up and getting going this AM... that is, until an IT colleague called me to RE-ask me stupid questions. I seriously believe in the philosophy that there's never a stupid question... THE FIRST TIME YOU ASK IT. By the third or fourth time, even the best questions are STUPID ONES. And the lame-brain ones like those from today are off-the-charts-ridiculous. Seriously... most of y'all probably know relatively little about payroll software systems; but let's just say you run a business where you have to pay employees in multiple countries. Oh, by the way, you have multiple hundred employees in both countries -- not just a couple of salespeople who would probably be okay with being add-ons to a U.S.-based payroll. Just for example's sake, let's say we're talking about the U.S. and Mexico. And let's just use basic reasoning here... can a payroll software system fulfill the needs of both employee populations (so that you can only run one system, with all your employee data, and pay everyone in the same manner)? Remember, basic reasoning. What are some of the potential pitfalls you might think of? Hmm... well, for one, maybe different currencies? Survey says... Ding, ding, ding. Each country has its own currency. It's difficult enough to figure out how to manage financial transactions without figuring in exchange rates! What else? Employment/payroll laws, you say? Survey says... Ding, ding, ding. You're on a role! The resources that would have to go into keeping up with multi-national payroll rules & regulations are staggering. (The resources required to keep up with federal and state regulations are staggering in and of themselves!)

But, you know, on the other hand (since there are always two sides to everything), maybe I'm being unreasonable and short-sighted. Maybe there ARE actually companies out there that are capable of paying employee populations in multiple countries from one system. I can't possibly think there are, but if any of you know one, I'd love to know about it.

And maybe it just ticks me off so much because we've already had this conversation! Not only that... but you refuse to learn anything from the many conversations we've had. We keep on having the exact same talks. F-r-u-s-t-r-a-t-i-n-g!

Maybe I should be more patient with people. Maybe I shouldn't have called another colleague to commiserate (yet again!) about this guy & our frustrating-as-crap repeat conversations. Patience... something I should probably check into.

Things that made me smile today:
- Surprise hellos from old friends
- Sydney's "hands"
- Marco's blog... "What? I'm pretty sure it's what Jesus would have done."
- Family time around the dinner table (which happened to be in a quiet restaurant)
- Rumors are swirling that The Police may be reuniting... I'm soooo going to that show. Who's in?

Let's go get some "work" done. Just a little bit more... b/c I can't seem to find my motivation during the days. (Maybe I left it in Oregon... have you seen it, Mary?) Have a great Friday!! X to tha O.

If You Don't Want the Answer, Don't Ask the Question

I found a great resolution on 43 Things tonight... while I was perusing for my own resolution-making (which, yes, I haven't done... c'mon, you can make resolutions ANYTIME!). Anyway, the great one that I think is a worthwhile endeavor... given my daily (weekday-ly, at least) posting routine (which I intend to maintain during 2007): Find and record/blog at least one thing each day that makes me smile. Hopefully, since I write for all y'all too (and I'm still interested, no matter what anyone thinks, in making others happy too!), the things that make me smile in a day will also bring a little grin to your faces. Believe me, this page likes to see your smiles!

Let's get this started in the right way. Wednesday, 1/3/07.
- Carolina victory (there'll be a) and the fun-to-watch (for me) individual performances of Reyshawn Terry and Brandan Wright
- Sharing Mom & Dad's peanut butter fudge from Lois!!! (Lois... it's as great as ever! THANKS for sending some back home with them!)
- The "Duke Boy" Jay Bilas/Hubert Davis commercial
- Stopping at Chick-fil-A for lunch (oops)
- Warm, fuzzy pullovers
- In-person hugs from my M&D
- The sweet pic of the Clubhouse Crew @ Callie's wedding - the professional version as opposed to my earlier (...um, the word for not professional... um, why can't I think of the word... um, c'mon silly brain... um, geez...) AMATEUR version (my waiting-for-me-when-I-got-here Christmas gift from C&J)

Okay, I'm taking an early bedtime tonight. Hope your evenings (and mornings) are fabulous. And... before I take my leave, I'll add a few pics for your viewing pleasure. Haley, you asked for more Jazzy pics... and the others are a few of my most recents.

Make Me Laugh Out Loud

Sometimes I wish I could just steal someone else's words and stick 'em up here. I've been staring at this blank post for hours now. I opened it at 10 whatever and it's now 1:11 am. In between, I did two loads of laundry, watched most of United 93 (which I've been carrying around in my bag - and getting scratched up - for months now... therefore, the quality of the dvd was less-than-perfect and it basically stopped working about halfway through. Great... so in addition to being freaked out about flying again, I didn't even get to see the end of the movie. So, I flipped on the end of Imagine Me and You. Not exactly a pick-me-up, but definitely more my speed.

Anyway, the white space is killing me; but I really, really, really don't know how to fill it. Let's see... nothing interesting from my own head... maybe I actually will steal someone else's words:

If these walls came crumbling down,
Fell so hard to make us lose our faith,
From what’s left you’d figure it out,
Still make lemonade taste like a sunny day,

Nobody’s laughing now,
God's grace lost and the devil is proud,
But I’ve been walking for a thousand miles,
One last time I could see you smile

Good enough. Going to bed. Night.

A Powerful Faith in What the Ancients Used to Call "Fatum"

Well, I'm not sure I would've put Angelina as my heaven; but I'm inclined to chuckle a bit at the depiction of Wal Mart as hell. Have you seen this yet?

And speaking of Wal Mart, I went to grab some groceries (and various other sundries -- okay, seriously, WHO knew that the word was "sundries"? I SWEAR, I have thought all along it was asundries! I seriously do learn something new every day!!)... anyway, I went to Wal Mart to grab some stuff and got ready to check out when, what do I find, but that I've forgotten my wallet. No cash, no credit cards, no NOTHING. I had to call Jon and ask him to come rescue me! Luckily, I've done the same for him before (at the Weis in Bellefonte when he had all the groceries bagged & loaded when he realized he didn't have his wallet, and he had to call me). Unluckily (for me), his experience was at the Bellefonte Weis... which is relatively unbusy; whereas I had to pull this crap at the S'boro Wal Mart... THE hopping place in this lil town. Anyway, Jon saved me (thanks sweetie), and we were eventually able to walk away from my own little hell on earth. I HATE feeling so darn helpless. I'm not helpless! I can take care of myself... very well, thank you very much... except when I don't have my wallet... and then I am L-O-S-T.

Okay, so the first day of the year... got some work done (check), took the dogs for a W (please don't say the word!) and got some exercise ourselves (check), did a little creative organization of a few more pics (check), spent a little quality time with my husband and our "kids", watched some foozball, embraced my true self and watched some TV and movies (Starsky and Hutch... I get the "Do It" line now... LOL), read a few magazines (so I could get rid of 'em), etc., etc., etc. (check). I'm sure there are lots of things that I should've done and didn't... and I do hope that won't keep me from doing them at some point over the course of the year... but as a whole, I kinda like Mom's little theory about today being a sampler of the year. I wish I would've been as productive as her today; but it'll do, it'll do. Maybe I can still squeeze in a few more things (like unpacking our bags from the trip out West; reading some more Jong - 2nd ever; getting some more lovin' from my little angels who, at this moment, smell like such sweet sleepy puppy; clean up a little more around the house; etc., etc., etc.), especially since I'm still kinda on Pacific Coast time... and if that's the case, I still have a few more hours of this day left!

As for resolutions, I think I'll stick with my Blogthings version from a few days ago:
1) Get a pet frog ... well, I kinda already have one or two or three... they live on my front porch and visit the office window at least once a year.
2) Eat less stale popcorn ... I promise to eat very little popcorn at all this year, and that's one I feel very confident I can stick to!
3) Travel to New Zealand ... well, I doubt I'll be successful at this one, but I'll give it a shot. Maybe I can even check a few of my to-do-by-30/40's on this trip too!
4) Study cannibal cultures ... cool... can't wait!
5) Get in shape with belly dancing ... okay, so it's not belly dancing per se, but I have my Carmen videos ready to go (c'mon, laugh with me now... Miss Georgia & Carmen's Striptease Aerobics... so f-u-n-n-y!)

Happy New Year, my peeps. Don't forget to ride the dream... and trust it to take you all the way. I love you all!

Love Turns the Whole Thing Around

Mom told me earlier tonight that she's considering tomorrow -- the first day of the new year -- a "sampler" of what her 2007 is going to be like. (So, of course... if you know my mom you could guess this, but... she's planning to be majorly industrious tomorrow.) I told my sister about the conversation later in the evening and she wondered where in the heck mom would've picked up that idea (that the first day of the year could be indicative of the rest of the year). I figure it's just another Crackpot Yates theory! (Mom has several of those! Just kidding, Mom!!!)

Anyway, it doesn't seem like a bad theory at all. But, let's wait and see what tomorrow brings. If I feel like being lazy & get nothing done all day, it's definitely a crackpot theory. If I get some work done, do any of several creative things I would like to start, get some exercise, straighten up/organize around the house & office, talk with friends & family, write some good resolutions & get a start on 'em, etc., etc., etc., then it's the best idea I've ever heard!

For all y'all who knew we were traveling today, yep... we had a good trip back. Took up the whole darn day, but we're finally back in the Eastern time zone and bunking at Forsythe. Things are pretty good here... except for the partially-chewed mucho-'spensive leather couch. Well, you had to expect they'd get their teeth on it sooner or later.

Unfortunately, we're tired from the travel... and we feel guilty about leaving the young 'uns alone at all at the moment (after having left them for a week!)... and we don't really have anywhere to go (not completely true... thanks for the invite, Jody), so we're celebrating the New Year at home, probably with half-closed eyelids. But, for all y'all out 'n about, hope you're having a blast! Those of you bums like me sticking close to home (and, who are we kidding, probably not having nearly as much fun as those of us elsewhere!), hope the spirit moves you to get up & do something next year!

Many people look forward to the new year for a new start on old habits. ~Author Unknown

So, which habits will we break this year and which will stick it out into 2007? Good, bad, indifferent? Either way, let's talk again tomorrow. At least we'll face 2007 together... like it or not! So, thanks for being a part of my 2006. You helped make it one heck of a year. I ♥ 2006. Really & truly. I'll miss it, but I'm looking forward to '07 as well. :)

An Answer? Who Needs a Stinkin' Answer?!

There are years that ask questions, and years that answer.
-Zora Neale Hurston

Because I Needed Help Resolving

Your New Year's Resolutions

1) Get a pet frog 2) Eat less stale popcorn 3) Travel to New Zealand 4) Study cannibal cultures 5) Get in shape with belly dancing

What Should Your New Year's Resolution Be?

There Once Was a Monk From Nantucket...

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/12/20/greece.monks.ap/index.html

I May Not Be a Photographer... But By Gosh, I Sure Do Try

Yes, I just said... let me just post a few of these pics from today so I don't have to write anything tonight. If you don't WANT to write on a blog, you shouldn't have to. Right? Am I right?

Well... quick run-down from today & plan for tomorrow and I'm outie.
- 5am: hear from Sarah that Kona got in a fight last night & has bite wounds on her neck. Vet says she's okay, but geez, Kona!
- 7am: alarm (AGAIN) goes off to ensure we have enough time to get ready for the 8am departure
- 8:30am: Departure for the coast... drop off car at Beaverton office for my return afternoon-of-work
- 10:00-ish: Breakfast at Wayfarer in Cannon Beach, followed by walk on beach, and visit to Ecola Park
- 3:00pm: Back to Beaverton office for afternoon-of-work
- 6:30pm: Meet Jon @ Paul's, dinner, chat, etc. Return rental car
- 10:30pm: Back at the house... Man, I'm TIRED. And I'm soooo sleeping in in the morning. What, like 9am Pacific time, though? Oh well... at least I'm not planning another trip in to the office & I can work from here. This 3 hour time difference makes it hard to be available for East Coasters. After lunch, kids. After lunch. You just can't expect me to be at the office, plugged in and ready to go before 9:30, CAN YOU??? Look peeps, I'm doing good to be up & around & functional by 9:30. So, that's my plan again for tomorrow... hopefully, it'll happen. Lord knows I have enough work to do! If I can get started by 9:30, maybe I can actually finish before NEXT YEAR!

Anyway, enjoy the pics... talk soon.

Don't Bother Reading... Says the Cynic

What to say, what to say...?! I really don't have a lot to say. I'm really tired again tonight. Such is what happens when you switch time zones, then stay up late in the new zone, and get up for work. Ick. Who wants to do that?! Well, actually, I did. Last night was movie-time (after a ham dinner) - Pursuit of Happyness @ Cinetopia... well worth watching - then home for lots of conversing about politics, religion, and sex. No, we didn't get around to sex. We spent all our time arguing about politics and religion. Just kidding... no arguments here... just very enlightening, good-hearted, we're-gonna-change-the-world-never-mind-we're-a-bunch-of-cynics discussion. Then today, I also wanted to get up for work. Don't know what it is about going into an office... but those of you who have workplaces that you like should count your lucky stars. Don't get me wrong, I like my office @ home. But being around people @ the Beaverton office today really felt nice. I can get pretty down on myself (no!)... as most of you know... and feeling competent in the office really helps get me reinvigorated and confident. So, that was nice. Stayed till 6-ish then admired the lights of the city as I drove back across it on the return trip. I'll probably put in a half-day tomorrow... after a little escapade in the morning. We're headed to the coast in the AM for b'fast in Seaside. It should be a clear but cold day. Perfect Oregon coast weather. Right Mom?

You know... instead of just writing a bunch of crap right now, I'm going to bed. Sorry. I know how you frequent-checkers like to see new & different. But once again, it's same old same old. Bunch o' nothing all the time. I'll change it up soon... maybe... if I feel like it.

Thanks for getting all the way to the end... says the girl-who-just-needs-l.o.v.e.

Amen Brother

Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.
    -- Niels Bohr (1885-1962)

Have You Seen This?

Since it's been a topic of conversation several times over the last couple days (Brad)... did you see the pics? http://flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=332192373&size=l

Also, thanks for all the well-wishes and love today... family, family #2, friends, txt from JL?!?! (where'd you come from?!), etc. Thinking of all of you tonight... and always. Much love to you and one last Merry Christmas (since it's still the 25th out here on the left side of the country!) before bedtime. Hope you're all safe, happy & comfortable in your own homes & beds tonight. XO

Have a Blessed Christmas

From tonight's candlelight service... the hymn (and single verse) that touched me most:

Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever and love me I pray
Bless all the dear children in thy tender care
And take us to heaven to live with Thee there

We arrived in Portland safely mid-day (Pacific time). Definitely recommend the direct flight. While it may seem like a long flight, it's soooo much nicer than long layovers! But leaving that early from ATL (9:40-something) made the alarm go off much too early (4:30 am)!!! Left the pups on the porch all day today (14 hours!). I'm SURE they were THRILLED when Sarah got there tonight! Yay, Southern Pet Sitters!!!

Anyway, I'm sleeeeepy... and I'm sure we'll talk later. For now, thanks for all the happy thoughts & Merry Christmases. :) Hope you are having your best Christmas ever!

Thanks For Being On My Side

So what if I see the sunshine
In the pouring rain
Some people think I'm crazy
But you say it's okay

They May Not Be Pretty... But They're Me

Keeping a journal, a blog, some kind of record of all the things you've done... something I consider (when looking back upon it) a very, very, very cool thing. Okay, so you know about the picture project. By this point, I have 3253 pics in the "album". Only 152 are un-tagged at the moment... and that's only because I took a little break to come write this post. By the end of the evening, all 3253 will be tagged (I think I told you before... that means place, event, people, etc.). I only have one more folder on the Desktop to add (these frosh-year pics had been scanned in from pages in a photo album... I cropped & saved each one individually earlier today... just haven't imported into the program) and one more folder on the Desktop to crop/save individually (the "this is my life" photo album that I scanned in a few months back for Me-maw's birthday???). I'm so almost finished with the big-computer pictures! So exciting!

Anyway, the point of my first sentence... as I tag each picture, I'm making a best-guess attempt at a date for it as well. Well, that's not true... best-guess isn't really good enough unless I know, at the very least, month & year. I can pinpoint a day (maybe a week) for just about every single photo! And that's really saying something... when the dates are all screwy because pics have been scanned in (thus, the "date picture was taken" is wrong b/c the computer recognizes the scan-in date) or the digicam's date wasn't set correctly. Anyway, there are lots of reasons why the dates are wrong upon import. And there are very few ways you can check a picture's date. Unless you're me... and you have the 268 blog postings going back 1 year (and 2 days), a 4.8-gig e-mail archive (of course, that's only the CCOR address... anything dating back to Carolina or Visto is long gone... SADLY) and 140 megs of current e-mail, a journal that was written in sporadically (although sometimes religiously) between 9/5/93 and 6/27/05 (there's only one page left before the whole book is full!), a Bible that became a this-is-my-life-in-tiny-snippets-as-I-do-my-daily-Bible-reading (dates/notes range from 1/24/97 to 12/8/05), and various notes, letters, ramblings, creations, reminders, and momentos for everything! When I do finally get around to making my scrapbook, I have quite the job organizing all the hard copies of the things I've kept.

So, anyway, some of you played integral parts in these events... just curious, can you identify what might've happened on each of these dates?

• January 26, 1996
• May 31, 1997
• June 6, 1997
• July 11, 1998
• November 7, 1998
• December 19, 1998
• December 20, 1998
• April 29, 2000
• August 17, 2002
• June 18, 2005
• November 6, 2005
• October 24, 2006

Okay, I'll give you a few hints...

• There are two graduations in there, one mine and one Haley's... not necessarily from the same school
• There are a couple of weddings and first dates (not necessarily mine!)
• There's a trip to a theme park... for the 2nd time
• There are a few football games... special for a few different reasons
• And probably more than a couple "oh my God, I'm THAT GIRL" moments!

Think you know any of them? Yeah, sure you do. Anywho, those are just a few that jumped out at me as I was scrolling through the massive database of pics just now. Thanks to each of you who've played a part in the fun events in my life... and thanks for letting me take lots of pictures in the process!

It's just another story caught up in another photograph I found.
and it seems like another person lived that life a great many years ago from now,
When I look back on my ordinary, ordinary life,
I see so much magic, though I missed it at the time.
    -- Sweet Jamie

Happy Pawlidays ... From Me ... With Love

Do you realize how difficult it is to keep coming back here, night after night, giving out yet another little piece of nothing?! You wouldn't think coming up with original little pieces of nothing would be that hard. Rest assured, it is. Hmm... what should I tell you about tonight? Well, first I'll share with you my original Christmas card ... made especially for, what the heck, we'll say YOU. :)



Jon and I had a little bit of Christmas early tonight. We treated ourselves to Japanese, a quick trip to Lowe's, and ALL of the presents in the box that arrived today. Should we have waited? Well, let's see... we're leaving early on Sunday morning (Christmas Eve Day), so we could've held the gifts until Saturday (12/23) night... but WHY? Today's just as good for Christmas as 12/23. Don't ya think?! Anyway, M, D, & H sent some very sweet, pretty things. Too much, yet again. We agreed on a spending limit this year (which they didn't really stick to... and which H evidently(?) didn't hear about!) to try to limit the lavishness we usually endure. Plus, with the upcoming trip to Oregon, Jon & I really did not want to have to figure out how to get any extra gifts back to Georgia on the return flight. So, we begged for Mom to just hold our gifts on the east coast. And then Haley came into the picture, all I'm-sending-yours-anyway... and we got the big box o' presents via USPS today. :) Seriously... everything was awesome. You guys did too much... yet again. For everyone that I DIDN'T get a present this year, I suck. I know it. That's all I wanted to say.

Well... I'm going to go see if I can't finish this little book I've been reading. I'd like to get this first-one-I've-ever-read-by-this-author finished up so that I can move on to her 2nd one that's already waiting on my shelves. It is quite enjoyable. Can't wait to tell you more about it. Soon... I promise.

P.S. - These photos-from-just-the-right-angle brought a smile to my face tonight. Thought you might also enjoy: http://forum.cybernetnews.com/index.php/topic,117.0.html.

The Time's Been Too Long

What we remember lacks the hard edge of fact. To help us along we create little fictions, highly subtle and individual scenarios which clarify and shape our experience. The remembered event becomes a fiction, a structure made to accommodate certain feelings. This is obvious to me. If it weren't for these structures, art would be too personal for the artist to create, much less for the audience to grasp. Even film, the most literal of all the arts, is edited.
- Jerzy Kosinski

This beginning-of-a-chapter quote really stuck with me... for two reasons. 1) I've told you before about my memories. I feel like Jerzy hits the nail on the head re: the way I feel about my memories. They're there. I think a lot about my memories. But I truly do feel that my mind has morphed them into little remember-able snippets... "little fictions, highly subtle and individual scenarios which clarify and shape our experience." They're not fact, for sure. But they're very real to me. And 2) Art is very, very, very personal. I'm not so pretentious to really believe what I leave here for you guys is art... but I do... kinda. Sometimes it's hard for me to actually click on "Publish" at the end of my post. Every time I do, I'm sharing a little piece of myself with you. It is very personal. It's edited, often heavily censored, but a piece of me nonetheless. So, thanks for reading me. But please continue to be gentle with my feelings. And thanks for being there for me... in all the ways you have been (sanity and such).

So, what is it about my writing? I love doing it. It's a personal exercise for myself... to be creative (somewhat), share pieces of myself with you voyeurs out there, keep you up-to-date with what's going on with me, communicate with each of you... personally and in general...

Anyway, enough about that. I have two sweet bundles of furry sleepiness on my lap (which makes it hard to finish out this post), so I should wrap for the moment. We'll talk more soon, I'm sure.

*** Huh... interesting... Blogger changed their picture-upload process. Hope those come through A-OK. ***

*** 2nd Postscript... Kids... I love both of you. And I don't know what to say. You know I have no advice... just know that I'm thinking about you and praying that everything works out. ***

A Little Something Better

That previous post was bad. I don't like it at all. But it's part of the record now... and I'm not about to go erase it. It had so much promise in my head. Oh well... you know what they say about the best laid plans.

Anway, I really felt like I should leave a little something better for y'all so you wouldn't be as let down as I was. So, here you go, a little wisdom & beauty from David (the king... not another David) about one of my favorite parts of this little world we live in:

The heavens tell of the glory of God. The skies display his marvelous craftsmanship.
Day after day, they continue to speak; night after night they make Him known.
They speak without a sound or a word; their voice is silent in the skies;
yet their message has gone out to all the earth, and their words to all the world.
-- Psalms 19:1-4

Hold Onto Whatever You Find

I don't mean to be deep. I'm actually quite simple-minded. Wouldn't you agree? I'm not trying to be intellectual, sophisticated, coy, or obscure. I don't think I'm better than anyone. (Quite the contrary, actually!)

Why say all that? I don't know... just felt like it needed to be said.

Anyway, my simple-mindedness is often quite obvious to me. I was taking a bath tonight (yes, mom, I have adopted your little habit... why wouldn't I with this darn bathtub?!)... anyway, I was taking a bath tonight and my mind was just about completely blank. Some people have to work to clear their mind. I just have to sit there and not think about anything. Makes me laugh... but it's more than a little true. Eventually, though, I think to myself... you know, I really should take this opportunity to think about something. It's such a good opportunity, anyway. I did have the tunes on and a book in my hand... so maybe I'm not giving myself enough credit for 'being there' mentally. (I was loving the Continuum and my Erica Jong. And, truthfully, I was paying attention to both. The no-thinkingness was actually more of an after-I-put-the-book-down goodness.) Get to the point already, Heidi. OK... so I started thinking about the water. By just touching the surface (or breaking the plane with a fingertip from below), you disrupt the entire still body of water. There's not one ounce left untouched. And before you can even comprehend all the ripples, the center has returned to tranquility, happiness, peace.

But... as I said... I'm simple-minded. So, don't ask me what any of that means. I'm sure Jon or Jake or Lis (et al) could all come up with symbolism, the deeper meaning, all that psychoanalytical babble. I choose to simply know I was observing the water. Speaking of water... there was a game we used to play on road trips. Eh, never mind. Sorry, this free-association, simple-mindedness of mine sometimes leads me to just blurt things out.

This was a dumb post. Sorry for wasting your time. That's what you get when I try to multitask (Monday Night Football). Go figure. Talk to you soon... hopefully with better subjects and better writing. Happy Monday night!

Ahh... Madden

Usually, when you get a doink, you don't get a 3. You need a mini-doink. There you got a doink... It's an inside doink. You can get a square doink, an outside doink, or an inside doink. When you get an inside doink like that, you get 3 points. That's one way to do it. A normal guy wouldn't try it that way.

I Smile Just Because

According to the BBC ("100 things we didn't know this time last year"), one in 10 Europeans is conceived in an Ikea bed. Also, for Camille: If all the Smarties eaten in one year were laid end to end it would equal almost 63,380 miles, more than two-and-a-half times around the Earth's equator.

Finally, Ritz crackers... little edible plates. Why've we got to keep going in circles?

Yeah Dawg... I Mean Mountaineers!!!

I Know the World Is Black & White

Oops... I forgot to mention the 1,699 additional pics I had stored temporarily in folders on my desktop on the big PC. Go figure... just when I think I get one part of the project done, I find there's actually more to go. Anyway, yes, still working on pics. The inspiring part, though, is that of the 1,699 "new" pics I found, most of them are organized adequately into folders. Wow... one good thing I did as I went!

Anywho... I couldn't really get inspired to do a lot (read "any") work today during regular work hours. So, I find myself burning the midnight oil now. My work programs have been open... well, no, they haven't. I started to say they've been open since 8 am; but I'd be lying. I shut everything down around 7, went to grab dinner (take out from Zaxby's... don't judge), and plopped down in front of the TV for a 2nd night in a row to watch a movie. Tonight's flick of choice: Click. Last night's: The Constant Gardener. Both get lots 'o stars in my Blockbuster ratings system. Two thumbs up. Definitely.

Oh, and I meant to post these earlier today (bet you can't guess what I was busy doing instead!):
- http://www.mygamingspace.com/play/tilt
- http://www.gamedesign.jp/flash/worldmap/worldmap.html

Both of those little time-wasting games came from Random Good Stuff. I decided I needed a little more "good stuff" in my life. :) Not that all this and all y'all aren't great; but you can never have too much good stuff!

Well, Coop wants to go to bed, so I should wrap it up for the evening. Believe me, you don't want a big dose of me today anyway. Take the mini version & be satisfied. More to say tomorrow, I'm sure. Always, always, always more to say tomorrow. Nightie night, silly readers. Xo.

Spend the Night Watching Earth Come Up

So, I came to leave a message here last night... several times, actually. But, our ISP elected to (again) leave us without service. No excuse as to why I didn't post something during the day today. Just got busy with meetings and the like, I guess. Well, that and I didn't really have anything to say.

I spent the evening last night (and tonight, actually) organizing the rest of the pics on my desktop... and jamming to some very-loud tunes. It must suck to be my neighbor. I play my music at a pretty high decibel level... especially late in the evening. I like it best that way. I can get lost in it... and really hear it too. I like the most melancholy ones at the highest volume. Well, not only those. I play my harder stuff loudly too. In case you care... or if we happen to have similar tastes in music... check out some of the tunes on my recently played list:

"Like A Star" - Corinne Bailey Rae
"Rest In Pieces" & "Always" - Saliva
"Money Maker" - Ludacris
"Here" - Hellogoodbye
"Hey Boy" - The Blow
"Invincible" - Crossfade
Some Phobia from Breaking Benjamin
Beyonce's best yet on her B'Day
All of the Songs to Live and Die By from 8mm (could this be my new fave?!)
And a little Akon thrown in for good measure
Etc., etc., but I'll keep a few secrets, thank you very much.

Anyway, I was talking about my pictures. It's been one of my ongoing (and taking forever) projects to get all the pics on my big computer organized, tagged (people, places, events, groups, schools, pets, etc.), and properly dated. There are only 2500 catalogued there. While that may sound like a lot, there are 3936 on my laptop (that have all been taken or saved here in the last year and a half). Anyway, my goal was to finish the first 2500 on the big computer before moving the "new" ones over there... because those first 2500 had all the hard-to-identify ones. Anyway, Haley helped me finish the last of 'em today (thanks, baby sister), so now I only need to scour the big computer for files I missed the first time, clean up some of the duplicates or scanned-in-too-small pixelated ones, then add the next 3936 from the laptop. Once I get all those worked in, it's on to scanning all the hard copies that don't already have an electronic copy made. Hey... at least no one can ever accuse me of not taking on big enough projects! Shoot, once I finish all that, it's my long-term goal to sit myself down in front of the wall-unit-desk-turned-junk-cabinet in M&D's formerly-very-orange-den to make copies of all Mom's this-is-your-life-in-print shots. Will I ever get it finished? Probably not... but when do I ever actually do what I say I'm going to do?

Well, I guess that's it for the evening. The program's being screwy; otherwise, I'd give you a taste of some of the oldie-but-goodie pics on the big PC. Alas, I'll save 'em for another day and instead leave you tonight with some words of wisdom from the Psalms:

Because of Your unfailing love, I can enter Your house; with deepest awe I will worship at Your temple.
Lead me in the right path, O Lord, or my enemies will conquer me. Tell me clearly what to do and show me which way to turn.
- Psalm 5:7-8

Love, love, love, love, love

Livin' and Learnin' to Man Up

I spent a little time tonight looking through an old book (1991) that had more than a little wisdom to impart. I thought I'd share a few of the Live and Learn and Pass It On 'isms. I'm sure you guys know all these... but sometimes it's important for me to remind myself. Bear with me... or don't. Y'know, whatever.

I've learned that...
... the great challenge of life is to decide what's important and to disregard everything else
... it doesn't cost anything to be nice.
... it's hard to argue with someone when they're right.
... no matter how you slice it, there are always two sides.
... kindness is more important than perfection.
... education, experience, and memories are three things no one can take away from you.
... singing "Amazing Grace" can lift my spirits for hours. [Or "Surely Goodness and Mercy", as the case may be at my house.]
... when bad times come, you can let them make you bitter or use them to make you better.
... if your life is free of failures, you're probably not taking enough risks.
... if you keep doing what you've always done, you'll keep getting what you've always gotten.
... no one can keep a secret.
... I don't make many mistakes with my mouth shut.
... honesty in little things is not a little thing.
... we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.
... everyone can use a prayer.
... you can't please some people, no matter what you do.
... you always find time to do the things you really want to do.
... we grow only when we push ourselves beyond what we already know.
... sometimes life hands you situations when all you can do is put one foot in front of the other and live moment to moment.
... you shouldn't speak unless you can improve on the silence.

Sometimes you've just got to take a moment and consider the world from Cooper's point of view:


Finally, a few from the car @ Thanksgiving, from one of my favorite spots on 421:

I Wanna Hear You Laugh Like You Really Mean It

One alcoholic says to another alcoholic, let's quit drinking.

It sounds like it should be funny. It maybe could be funny given the right context or person telling the "joke". But is it REALLY funny? Probably not so much. I'm going to choose to laugh anyway. Otherwise, I make myself crazy.

Stupid Friendly Fire

Friendly fire will not be tolerated. Spellcheck engaged.

Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

This is the day which the Lord hath made;
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
-- Psalm 118:24

When Is It Too Late?

Will lemonade eat your stomach like Diet Coke probably does? I think... probably not. So, I'm switching... at least at Chick-fil-A... at least for today. I ♥ lemonade.

Are You Standing In My Room?

How many natural-born citizens actually wouldn't be citizens if they actually had to take the citizenship test? I was reading Time magazine today and ran across a tidbit about how the govt. is changing the citizenship test. Evidently, they want to get away from memorization and make sure test-takers actually understand the principles, theories, and ideas presented. Funny... even the memorization would probably be too much to ask of some of our already-here citizens. I think Jay Leno's "Man on the Street" bit proves that! (As if interacting on a daily basis with "men on the street" hadn't already proven it to all of us.)

Anyway... wanna know how you'd do? I'm sure these are still old-version questions (thus, their memorize-able quality), but they still probably sufficiently prove my point. (And, by the way, this is all from memory... in addition to being stupid, the American people are lazy... and I'm not walking all the way back upstairs to grab the article just so I can copy the questions into this post!)

• Who is the current chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court?


• What is the national minimum wage?


• Name one of the authors of the Federalist Papers.


• What are "inalienable rights"?


• What does it mean that the U.S. Constitution is a "limited powers" constitution?


• Which cabinet-level organization advises the U.S. president on foreign policy?


• What are the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution called?


• What territory did the U.S. purchase from France in 1803?


• How many members are there in the U.S. House of Representatives?


• Shoot... I forgot the last one. One freakin' more and I can't think of it. Oh well... I'm actually pretty proud that I remembered 9 out of 10. Insert your own should-be-easy-but-isn't-really question about the U.S. here.

So, I was watching quite a bit of Tivo (and a movie) tonight; and there were lots and lots of quotes that were worthy of being documented (and repeated). Unfortunately, none of them are appropriate for general conversation (or blog-posting) at this moment. So, I'll just say there were lots I liked... and none I'll be telling y'all. Oh... except for "slut in truck". Hales, you were right. John Tucker Must Die... definitely worth the watch. :) But for all y'all who don't like high school movies, don't bother. We don't want you watching our fun movies anyway! Speaking of watching lots of movies... no, never mind. I don't want to talk about that either.

Well... since I can't seem to catch any of my swirly thoughts (any ones I want to blog about anyway), I'll steal one of Callie's answers to a question in the survey-o'-the-day bulletin... and then I'll bid my adieu:

What are your plans for the future?
Live, laugh, love

Good for you, Cal. Great answer. Good luck with that. To the rest of y'all... here's hoping that your living, laughing, and loving is the best it can possibly be. Wishing you nothing but the best & much, much, much, much, much happiness. Xoooooooo.

Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot

What Your Soul Really Looks Like

You are a warm hearted and open minded person. It's easy for you to forgive and forget. You are a grounded person, but you also leave room for imagination and dreams. Your feet may be on the ground, but your head is in the clouds. You see yourself with pretty objective eyes. How you view yourself is almost exactly how other people view you. Your near future is calm, relaxing, and pretty much what you want. And it's something you've been anticipating for a while now. For you, love is all about caring and comfort. You couldn't fall in love with someone you didn't trust.

Inside the Room of Your Soul

Also... I read lots of blogs, some more random than others. I usually delete them off the RSS feed list if the author doesn't say something that moves me over the course of a couple weeks. This one was close to being deleted, but today, she hooked me (for another couple of weeks, at least).

I have only one thing to say about today - everyday is better than the next.

No worries. It was just Mercury falling.

I'm back... WITH... A Few Quotes for Ya...

Seek not happiness too greedily, and be not fearful of happiness.
- Lao-tzu (604 BC - 531 BC)

We are able to laugh when we achieve detachment, if only for a moment.
- May Sarton

Happiness comes more from loving than being loved; and often when our affection seems wounded it is only our vanity bleeding. To love, and to be hurt often, and to love again - this is the brave and happy life.
- J. E. Buchrose

Consciously or unconsciously we all strive to make the kind of a world we like.
- Oliver Wendell Holmes

Whatever is at the center of our life will be the source of our security, guidance, wisdom, and power.
- Stephen Covey

Cable people suck. Sorry, sweets. But hope the red takes the edge off the day! Well, that and the boy. Meanwhile, my replacement friend Tivo is running out of entertainment. Stupid hiatusoxen. I'm gonna have to go find more shows to capture for later viewing pleasure.

Thanks to all y'all regular checkers out there for coming back again and again and again to this here nonsense. Sorry for the no-message last night. Our ISP decided to take us off the air for the evening (kind of like the Panthers at the end of the game last night) and didn't return to action until about 10:30 this morning. But I noticed y'all checking in repeatedly anyway. :) Hope you like re-runs.

About Having Brown Eyes...

My brown eyes are so boring... but the good thing about having them is I get to pretend every 'brown eyes' song is about me... or Cooper. I guess any 'brown eyes' song could theoretically be about Cooper.


Also... some things everyone should know: 18 Tricks to Teach Your Body.